The new school year is here and as desert gridirons, gyms, pools, tennis courts and driving ranges are filled with high school athletes and coaches honing their skills and coming up with strategies, we in The Desert Sun sports department are doing the same.

Each year we reassess our game plan, see how many returnees we have, work to navigate any new hurdles placed in front of us and come up with the best strategy for our digital and traditional newspaper readers.

So with that in mind, I wanted to share our game plan with you for our high school sports coverage for the upcoming season. (Note: Make sure your coaches don't share your game plan with the world like we are, it's not a good strategy.)

Football Friday nights

Digitally: Our mobile and digital audience is growing rapidly and we are increasing our focus on the content we can offer these readers.

When it comes to a live high school sporting event, like a football Friday night, our quest this year is to provide photo galleries, video, scores and stories online at desertsun.com, on Facebook and on our social media accounts within minutes of the games going final. It's part of our commitment to making you feel like you're part of the action.

We will have a live updating scoreboard at desertsun.com that you can follow throughout the night. When we know of a scoring change, you'll know it, too.

During the games our @desertsunsports Instagram and Twitter accounts will take you to the gridiron. We'll show you the bands, the cheerleaders, the fans and players via Instagram live and Instagram stories. We'll be tweeting out pictures and scoring updates throughout the night.

Then go to desertsun.com after the game for photos, video highlights and stories from around the desert gridirons. Then, at midnight, head back to Instagram (just like you did last year) to vote for our Friday Night Hero.

In the newspaper: This emphasis on the instant nature of the mobile audience, coupled with new earlier print deadlines that don't allow for night-time coverage, means a significant change for our print readers: There will be no next-day coverage of high school sports. The lack of next-day stories reflects the realization that our audience is migrating to mobile devices for immediate coverage of live events and sports scores.

I want to say that again, because this will be a shock to the system: There will be no Friday night football results in Saturday's paper. Instead, all of our Friday football coverage will now appear in Sunday's paper, while the info you have been accustomed to seeing in Saturday morning's paper will still be available Saturday morning online.

In Sunday's paper you will find our Friday Night Hero candidates as well as stories that are more analytical and provide a feature angle rather than a traditional game story. In addition, you will also still find results and photos from all around the desert.

So that is a rundown on how football is going to work. So now let's talk about ...

The other high school sports

Digitally: Something new and exciting. The popularity of our Friday Night Hero which is where we pick the five top football players each Friday and have you vote on Instagram for the weekly winner will now carry over into the non-football sports.

This year, we are starting a Player of the Week vote, which will feature five athletes from the other sports. In the fall that means volleyball, cross country, girls' golf, girls' tennis and boys' water polo.

Every Saturday (starting Sept. 1), we'll reveal on Instagram and in the paper our five picks for the Athlete of the Week from the previous week's action and you can vote for the winner. We'll then reveal the winner online and in the paper. This will continue in the winter and springs seasons as well.

And just like with football, when there is a big game that we cover, we will follow it up quickly online and on Facebook with photos and video that same night.

In the newspaper: Just like with football, and for the same reasons, there will be no next-day stories in print. The big volleyball game on a Tuesday night will appear in Thursday's paper. The key cross country meet on a Wednesday, it will appear in Friday's paper.

Our around-the-valley recap of action will return in the paper giving us a chance to celebrate all the hard work from desert athletes. This will be the weekly rhythm: The action from Monday and Tuesday night will appear in Thursday's paper. The action from Wednesday and Thursday night will appear in Saturday's paper. And the action from Friday (non-football) and Saturday will appear in Tuesday's paper.

Very important: For both the three-times-a-week recap and the Player of the Week voting, it is imperative that coaches, parents or players e-mail in their results consistently. As soon as possible after your game, please e-mail the scores, some of the top players, your record and your next game to sports@desertsun.com. Or if your results are posted somewhere online or on social media, please tell us where to find them. Also let us know about any human interest story in the high school sports world that you think warrants some attention. We'd love to hear about it.

The week in prep sports

Here is a daily look at what you can expect in the paper from our high school sports coverage:

SUNDAY: All the news, analysis, photos and results from Friday night football and we reveal our Friday Night Hero candidates.

MONDAY: A feature or analytical piece stemming from Friday night football action

TUESDAY: The high school sports recap from any action that took place Friday (non-football) and Saturday

WEDNESDAY: A college catch-up. That's where we check in on a desert player competing at the college level.

THURSDAY: We reveal the Athlete of the Week. Also, the high school sports recap from Monday and Tuesday action. Also high school football story lines for the week.

FRIDAY: We reveal the Friday Night Hero as well as offer a football feature story and football picks.

SATURDAY: We reveal our Athlete of the Week candidates and have a high school sports feature story.

So there you have it. That's the game plan we're working with as the season starts. Just like the desert high school scene, there will be a lot of changes this year, but our goal is still the same. To provide our readers -- both digitally and in print -- innovative and informative coverage of our high school athletes.

They deserve the recognition and we're trying to make sure it's available on whatever platform they're looking for it.

Shad Powers is a sports columnist at The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @shad_powers.

This week's football

FRIDAY'S GAMES

(All games at 7 p.m.)

Beaumont at Palm Desert

Palm Springs at Desert Vista (Ariz.)

Rancho Mirage at Twentynine Palms

Shadow Hills at West Valley (Hemet)

Xavier Prep at Notre Dame (Riverside)

SATURDAY'S GAME

Desert Christian Academy at Trinity Classical (7:30 p.m.)

More inside

On pages C6-7: A full look at our Elite 11

On page C8: A full composite schedule for desert 11-man football

On Facebook today: Tune in at 4 p.m. for a Facebook Live chat with reporters Shad Powers and Andrew John. Ask us any questions about the Elite 11 or the upcoming season. That's at our desertsunsports Facebook page.

The picks

Each week, sports reporters Shad Powers and Andrew John will pick the high school football games. Here are this week's: